


A Man and The Moon

by GrapeJellyCandy



Series: Short Stories [7]
Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Heartbreak, Light Angst, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), lovers to strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrapeJellyCandy/pseuds/GrapeJellyCandy
Summary: Hongseok could run after him, could call his name and tell him how much he's missed him, but he doesn'tInstead he lets the tears stain tracks down his cheeks, and watches
Relationships: Jo Jinho | Jino/Yang Hongseok
Series: Short Stories [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1347667
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	A Man and The Moon

“I think you and me, we’re like the sun and moon.” Jinho says, disturbing the silence.

Hongseok pulls his eyes away from the starry sky to Jinho laying beside him. A smile blesses his lips. “And why’s that?” 

“Well,” Jinho starts, “You’re the sun. You light up the world everywhere you go. You’ve just got this warmth about you, ya know?” Hongseok closes his eyes and follows along with Jinho’s words, soaking them in and deciphering each syllable. “And me, I’m the moon. You light me up, make me my best self so that I can light up the night.”

“And you’re small like the moon,” Hongseok says nodding his head wisely. 

Jinho turns to Hongseok and slaps his arm, “Shut up!” 

The two boy’s quiet giggles fill the night air and the stars seem to twinkle along. They both quiet eventually and fall back into their former silence. Hongseok glances haphazardly towards Jinho, and his lips pull down. Jinho is his moon, his stars, his everything, but Hongseok isn’t the sun. Not even close.

“I think I’m more like the ocean, actually,” Hongseok says suddenly. Jinho’s eyes don’t stray away from the stars, too absorbed in the blinking constellations. “Drawn to the moon, to you.”

Jinho chuckles, “That’s cute.” 

Hongseok doesn’t find it nearly as cute as he’s sure Jinho finds it. “No it’s not,” he says, sour. 

“What do you mean?” Jinho finally looks away from the sky and at Hongseok. 

Hongseok is staring off somewhere, his eyes are looking at the sky, but it’s obvious he isn’t really seeing. He’s got a distant look instilled deep into his features. Eventually he reels his mind back into his head, and his eyes fall over to Jinho. The two lock eyes on eachother.

“Did you know the moon is getting further from Earth?”

>>

Hongseok bobs his head along to the song playing through his earbuds. The stark contrast of the pounding bass and melodic vocals instils a quiet glee into his chest. He continues walking down the boardwalk, trying to avoid the waves splashing over the edge towards his feet. 

A shadow sweeps past him, and he looks up to the sky trying to spot the bird. Instead of finding the now long gone bird, Hongseok’s eyes get caught on the barely visible moon. It’s pale white just like the puffy clouds spread around the sky, and it hardly stands out against the mid-day sky. His eyes soften and lips curl up ever so slightly. Oh how Hongseok used to love the moon. 

As he walks away from the boardwalk and towards the cement sidewalk Hongseok sees a convenience store, and soon finds himself walking towards the door. The cold of the conditioned air sends a chill through his body as it falls over him.

“Morning, sir,” the cashier says monotonously. 

“It’s afternoon,” Hongseok gives them a wink and smiles. They don't return the playful sentiment. 

Hongseok ignores the cashiers questioning stare and ventures around the store. He passes by the refrigerated section, but decides against getting anything. Then he moves on towards the candy section, and his eyes fill with light as he spots a bag of fruit flavored suckers. He walks over to them and makes a grab for the bag, but the candies are pulled off the shelf just before he can take them. 

“Oh sorry,” the person starts saying, “you can… have them,” their voice trails off.

Hongseok looks up from the shelf to the person, and freezes when he sees their face. His eyes widen and suddenly his prior happy attitude is nowhere to be found.

“Hongseok, wow, hi. It’s been a while,” Jinho says shocked.

Hongseok feels the world around him disappear. The shelves crumble and the walls fade, the voices of everyone around them seem miles away as his mind focuses on just Jinho. Jinho is here, standing in front of Hongseok.

“How’ve you been since I left?” Jinho asks with a smile. 

Hongseok thinks back to all the sleepless nights, to all the tears and hardships, and all the months he spent missing Jinho. He remembers the days he thought he couldn’t go on without his moon. Then Hongseok thinks about how he’s been living lately; content with his life but repeating the same schedule every day. A boring cycle of classes and work and, more frequently than not, night time breakdowns. He thinks about how miserable he’s been since Jinho left him to go study abroad. 

“I’ve been good,” Hongseok says instead.

“That’s great, I’ve been good too, found myself a lady actually.”

Hongseok feels his heart clench, “A girlfriend?” 

“Yep! But let’s not talk about me,” Jinho waves his hand dismissively, “ I’ve missed ya, want to go get coffee or something?” he asks. 

“I’ve got time, sure, why not?” Hongseok says trying to keep casual.

Hongseok decides against purchasing anything, and the two leave the store. Jinho insists he knows where an amazing cafe is, so Hongseok lets him lead the way. As they walk Hongseok's eyes can’t help but repeatedly find their way to Jinho’s hand. He can’t help but remember all the times he held those hands, all the times he kissed those hands, or all the times those hands would rub his back to comfort him. His chest clenches with each memory.

They get to the cafe. It’s a small place, family owned by the looks of it. They order their drinks along with some sweets, and then sit at a small table next to a window. 

“So you know I’ve got a girlfriend. Anyone special in your life yet?” Jinho asks.

Hongseok knows it’s an innocent question, that there’s no venom behind it, but he feels hurt being asked. He doesn’t want Jinho to know he hasn’t been able to love anyone since they broke up. 

“A few flings here and there, but I haven't been able to settle down just yet,” Hongseok adds a light hearted laugh afterwards. 

“I see, It’s hard to find a good girl these days.”

Hongseok has to tell himself to laugh along with Jinho and to pretend like he actually wants a girlfriend at all, to pretend like he’s not still in love with his moon.

They keep talking about random subjects, about university, about their families, about the future, but never about the past. Neither bring up the days they spent with each other in bliss. When they were just teenagers and it was them against the world. The nights they would watch the stars on the old abandoned factory’s roof or the days they would run across the sandy beaches. Those days seemed to be forgotten, lost with time. 

“How’re you liking your drink? I never knew you were a coffee guy,” Hongseok asks, pointing at Jinho’s americano.

“Oh,” Jinho chuckles, “I got into coffee after I met my girlfriend. She loves the stuff.”

Hongseok huffs a fake laugh, “That’s nice.”

Eventually their time at the cafe comes to an end. Jinho has family to visit, and Hongseok has classwork needing to be finished. They exchange phone numbers, but it’s useless. They both know they’ll never contact each other. 

“It was good seeing you, for real, Hongseok,” Jinho barks out as they shake hands. It’s something so terribly formal that it makes Hongseok’s stomach sick. They shouldn’t be shaking hands goodbye, Hongseok thinks.

“I enjoyed it, thanks for paying,” Hongseok thanks, and they both let out a polite laugh. 

“I should get going, Mom’s probably tired of waiting.” 

They say their final goodbyes, and without sparing another glance Jinho walks away. Hongseok stands there idly. The view of Jinho’s back getting further away blurs as tears find their way into Hongseok’s eyes. He hopes that Jinho will turn around, that he’ll come running back saying how much he misses the old days. But he doesn’t. Jinho keeps walking, and within just seconds, he’s out of view.

He lets the tears stain tracks down his cheeks as he does nothing but watch his moon leave once again.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Say hi to me on twitter @/GrapeJellyCandy ♡


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